Mission on Alderaan
by Franciscan Gypsy
Summary: Another of my erased Vivid Dreamer 18 stories. Right before A New Hope. Mara Jade has a mission...
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own any of the Star Wars characters, although some of them I wish I did:)**

**This story is mine, though, even if the characters aren't, and I'd appreciate kind, but constructive reviews.**

**I apologize ahead of time for any inconsistencies to anything already mentioned in the Star Wars universe. **

**Enough from me now; enjoy the story:) **

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The number of people waiting to ride the passenger transport to Alderaan seemed endless, and the noise made by them was almost unbearably loud. Babies fussed, children laughed and argued, parents scolded, and old friends chatted amiably. It was confusion in its best form.

In the middle of this friendly mayhem stood a pillar of silence, inconspicuous in her general manner, but distinctive in her beauty and silence. Fire-red hair immediately caught the attention of those not preoccupied in their own business, but the brilliant green eyes set in the porcelain face caused viewers to turn away with a shiver, though they did not know why.

Her name was Mara Jade, and she was the Emperor's Hand. She had done the Emperor's bidding from her childhood, and she had learned early on that her job wasn't pretty. Most of the time, in fact, it was cold and harsh. She was the tool that exacted his vengeance, and if nowhere else, it showed in her eyes.

"Why are you going to Alderaan?"

The young woman turned to face the owner of the overly cheerful voice. Everything about him, from his loud clothes to his cocky smile screamed _scoundrel_, or at least _ladies man_.

Mara cocked an eyebrow at his impertinence as she made her conclusions. "I'm sorry?"

The man sidled next to her, unfazed by her unfriendly tone and disinterested stare. "I'm going to Alderaan on a business trip," he explained, keeping shoulder to shoulder with her as they entered the ship. They both passed over their passports and got them back without a break in the conversation. "I deal in glittersilk and Corellian ale, as well as… other… products." He flashed her what he probably considered a charming smile. "Why are you going to Alderann, and will you be there long?"

Mara glanced around the cruiser for a free seat, hoping for one that was alone. She wasn't that lucky.

The young woman sighed as she threw a glance at her unwanted companion. She really wasn't interested in sitting with an over-talkative, over-flirtatious smuggler. She shrugged. _Oh, well, time to get creative._

The smile she tossed him was equal in intensity to a minor sun. "How interesting," she said with false enthusiasm, "I'm going to Alderaan for more pleasurable reasons."

She sat down next to a heavy-set woman, and put her bag on the seat separating her from the ship's wall. Her lashes batted in a parody of shyness. "My husband and I are going on our honeymoon," she simpered.

It was really quite amusing how quickly his manner changed, first with her words, and then with the realization that she was blocking the seat off from his use. He reddened angrily, obviously unaccustomed to refusal.

"I see," he replied stiffly, eyes angrily shifting away from her mocking smile, "It was nice meeting you, ma'am. So sorry to bother you."

"Oh, it wasn't a bother at all," Mara called smugly to his departing back. He ignored her and found a seat several rows down. Just as he sat down, the copilot informed them that they were taking off for Alderaan now, and everyone buckled their crash belts. As soon as they were in space, Mara released hers, and pulled a holo-novel from her bag, pretending to peruse it so as not to be bothered by her fellow passengers and distracted from her thoughts.

Her reason for going to Alderaan was, in reality, a lot less innocent than the explanation she had given to her flirty fellow-passenger. Rather than beautiful nightgowns to wear or hoards of credits to spend on a good time, her bag contained serviceable jumpsuits hidden under fancy gowns, and weapons that were too small to register on a typical scanner for a passenger cruiser.

If all things went to plan, by the night of the next day, Senator Bail Organa would be dead.

**For people who might have seen this story before. Sorry about that, my stories under my other name got erased. So this was reposted.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Once again, constructive criticism is welcome, just as long as you put it nicely. Please R&R. **

Once she had made it clear that she was not interested in being bothered, the ride to Alderaan had been pleasant enough. She finished her holo-novel and had fine-tuned her plan of action upon landing on the planet. Her plan did not really need the fixing; she had looked into every detail before booking her transport to Alderaan, but Mara was a firm believer in making sure that there were no surprises.

She had always found that the best way to do that was to make sure that her plan was perfect, with several back up plans held in reserve in case something went wrong. As was to be expected, her strategy for this mission still seemed logical; she was the Emperor's Hand after all. The title meant that she was the best at what she did.

As it turned out, Mara was not the only visitor to Alderaan who had booked a room at Grand Accommodations, and so she had quite a wait before she was able to step up to the desk to get her room key. When it was finally her turn, the man at the desk smiled appreciatively at her. Although he was probably old enough to be her father, his eyes still had that interested brightness in them.

Mara sighed and decided to ignore the look this time. "Quilana, Jezzel."

He blinked, startled by her abrupt statement. "I'm sorry?" he stammered, looking in her eyes now instead of checking her out.

Mara didn't feel to bad about nonplussing the jerk, but she did want to keep us the pretense of being a normal girl visiting Alderaan for pleasure. Besides, she could use his interest in her to her advantage. She threw him a self-deprecating smile. "Sorry about that," she apologized, putting as much sincerity as she could into her words, "It's been a rough trip. I just want to go upstairs and soak in an actual water bath for once."

The man behind the desk nodded sympathetically. "I hate space travel myself," he admitted, "I never leave Alderaan if I don't have to. Are you here for the festivities this week?"

Mara gave him a little grin. "Oh, I wouldn't miss them." She leaned forward on the desk, getting into the man's personal space. He shivered slightly as she whispered with carefully maintained excitement in his ear. "I heard that Senator Bail Organa is going to be speaking… is that true?"

His head jerked up and down with such vigorousness that she thought it would topple off his neck. "Oh, yes," he enthused, obviously very happy to give the beauty before him the information she wanted, "As a matter of fact, he is hosting the festivities. It is the 20th anniversary of his being Alderaan's representative; I've also heard that a lucky few will get to actually eat with him at the celebration meal – a different group of four each day of the week."

"Wow!" Mara made herself sound impressed as her nimble mind took down all this information, "What do you think my chances are of being one of those few?" She pushed a strand of red-gold hair behind an ear with seeming self-consciousness.

He smiled idiotically at her. "Very good, I would say."

From behind her, an irritated male voice complained. "C'mon, lady! Stop holding up the line! I want to get to my room _some_ time tonight!"

Mara and her informant glanced back at the line behind her. Mara let an embarrassed look cross her face. "Oh, dear," she sighed, straightening up, "I suppose I better go to my room now."

The hotel's deskman straightened as well. He threw the loudmouth behind her an irritated look. "Yes, I suppose you should. What was your name?" He moved to the desk computer, his fingers poised over the control panel.

"Jezzel Quilana," she repeated, passing over her false passport as identification. The man on the other side of the desk glanced at the passport, all business now, and tapped something into the computer. He nodded with satisfaction as the information popped up a second later in response.

"Age 24, from Corellia?" he asked.

Mara inclined her head in the positive. "That's me," she said.

Actually, not only was the name false, but so were the age and the planet of origin. He would never find that out, though; the Intelligence Department of the Empire was too good to slip up on her cover story.

He passed her back her passport and slid her keycard over to her. "Room 229, Miss Quilana; I hope you enjoy your visit to Alderaan."

"Oh, I shall," she replied, gathering up the keycard and passport, and shoving them into a vest pocket, "Thank you. Have a nice day."

His response got lost in the noise of the hotel foyer as she headed toward the lift. Mara smiled as the lift doors closed behind her. Everything was going as planned. The talkative hotel worker had confirmed her information, and she already had arranged to be among those invited to eat with the Senator.

The young woman glanced at her wrist chrono. She had approximately two hours to wash and dress for the festivities.

Maybe she would take some time for that bath after all.


	3. Chapter 3

Mara left the warm comfort of the bath with an hour to spare, and quickly rifled through her bag for something to wear at the celebration that night. Although she wanted to look dressy enough so as to fit in with the other party-goers, she didn't want to stand out among them by dressing up _too_ much – when it came time for her to leave, she would need to be able to make a quick and inconspicuous exit.

In the end, she settled on wearing a velvety green dress with a form-fitting black sleeveless top. It was an attractive, but practical choice. The skirt hid her small, undetectable blaster and the vibro-knife attached to her thighs, and if things got iffy, the green fabric could easily be torn away from the black body suit she was wearing underneath. She hoped not to have to tear the dress – it would mean that she had been detected – but was prepared to do so. As long as she eliminated her target, she was willing for her pride to take a blow.

Mara brushed through her red hair quickly and blow-dried it before deciding just to leave it down for the night. Within minutes, she had grabbed her purse and was out the door.

BBBBB

"I'm sorry, miss, I need to check your bag. For the Senator's safety and all that. We just need to make sure."

The young security guard seemed rather embarrassed about stopping Mara before she entered the Senator's private eating area, for he stammered and blushed as he held out his hand. Mara arched an eyebrow at him, but with a kind smile passed over her purse.

She had expected a least a cursory weapons check at the door, so she had prepared for it. The guard would no more find a weapon in her bag than he would a Wookie. With mumbled thanks and apologies, he rifled through her bag and checked her passport before handing both back to her. Another guard simultaneously scanned her for weapons. She wasn't too worried about him picking up her blaster or her vibroblade on his scanner; they were made of a rare material found in the Rim Worlds, and wouldn't show up on mainline weapon scanners.

"Do you have to worry about many people going after the Senator?" Mara asked with a tone of innocence. Keeping with her part as the fun-loving tourist, she allowed her gaze to follow the security guards' movements. They saw the look as mere curiosity; it was really a study of them so she could be prepared to take them out if it became necessary.

"Not too many," the young guard replied, "We just have to be prepared." He looked over Mara's shoulder at his partner. The older man nodded and stopped scanning her.

The young man returned his gaze to the Emperor's Hand. "You're clean, miss. You can proceed now. I'm so sorry for the inconvenience."

Mara smiled as he opened the door for her. "No problem; I understand that you have to do your job. You have to keep the Senator safe."

The guard beamed as she walked past. "Yes," he agreed happily, "Senator Organa's a good man; we need to keep him alive and well."

Mara rolled her eyes as soon as she was out of sight at the guards' stupidity.

_You morons_, she thought with disgust, _your beloved Senator is a traitor to the Emperor! You'll be lucky if I don't report you. Lucky for you, you're too insignificant to be bothered with! Besides, the realization that you probably let in your Senator's killer will probably be punishment enough…_

"Hey, what are you doing here? I thought you were on your honeymoon!"

Mara stifled a groan as the overly-cheerful masculine voice broke into her thoughts. She turned slowly to meet the gaze of the smuggler she had met on the transport to Alderaan. He looked dashing in his red suit and black cape, although he was conspicuously weaponless.

Having the man dogging after her all night was going to get her some unwanted attention, but she had the nasty feeling that it would get her less attention than sticking with the honeymoon story. He would continue to tag after her, and the Senator or others might even become suspicious as to why her husband wasn't with her. Besides, people always wanted to congratulate honeymooners, and she didn't need people to show that kind of interest in her.

Bowing to the inevitable, she changed her tune. "I lied," she said bluntly, going with her official cover story instead, "I'm really just here for the festivities, but I'm a little leery of scoundrels so…" she shrugged apologetically. "I didn't think you would take a simple I'm-not-interested-in-flirting as an answer."

He blinked, his smile wavering. "Well, I've never had any woman say _that_ to me before! Look, _sweety_, why don't you just give me a chance? If you feel too uncomfortable with some simple dancing and an entertaining flirtation, you can slap me!" He winked. "I'm used to it, believe me."

Mara laughed. "I have no doubt that you are." She went over to the bar and ordered a drink, and he did the same.

He raised an eyebrow at her choice. "Corellian brandy?"

"I know how to handle my alcohol," she shrugged, accepting her glass from the bartender. She leaned back comfortably on the barstool as she glanced up at the wall chrono. Two hours to waste before dinner with the Senator.

"So what are _you_ doing here?" Mara probed, taking a sip of her brandy, "I thought you came to Alderaan on business."

The smuggler shrugged as he took a big gulp of his own drink. "The deal fizzled out," he explained with a sigh, "My prospective customers got too shy to deal. So when I heard about this party, I figured I'd come since I was here anyway; I mean, you can't beat getting your drinking habit paid for by Organa."

The lady's red eyebrow rose to her hairline. "Sounds like a deal to me."

He chuckled into his drink. "That's one way of putting it." He leaned back in his own seat and studied her, obviously liking what he saw. Mara stared right back, refusing to be intimidated.

The smuggler laughed again. "You don't let anyone daunt you do you?"

"It was never a habit I could get in to," Mara retorted, "I'm too stubborn."

"And sassy," he grinned. He ordered another drink and one for her as well. "What's your name, anyway? I don't think we ever got introduced. _I'm_ Rovan Curikk."

"Jezzel Quilana," Mara replied, "and this is very fascinating for me, by the way. I don't usually associate with smugglers."

Rovan played with his drink. "Yeah, well, it doesn't show. You seem perfectly at your ease." He threw her an impish grin. "You interested in joining the racket, Jezzel? I wouldn't mind having you as a partner."

Mara cocked an eyebrow again. "A little quick, aren't you? No, thanks, Rovan, I have the feeling that you're a bit of a ladies' man, and I don't need the heartbreak. Besides, I have a desk job I'm perfectly happy with."

"You? A desk jockey?" he snorted distastefully. "You're wasting your life, Jezzel. You could do much better In smuggling and it's more exciting besides."

Mara finished her drink and stood up as she glanced once more at the wall chrono. "You can't get a steady man in smuggling, Rovan. You guys are in smuggling for a reason; you're wanderers who can't follow the rules. I'm not going to find someone who can make a commitment there."

She pointed at the chrono before he could protest. "Look, I have an hour before I join the Senator at dinner. I want to do some dancing before then, not spend the whole time drinking. This conversation is ended."

Rovan stood up as well, leaving his drink unfinished. "Is that all for tonight then?" He sounded disappointed.

Mara threw him a saucy look. "Can you dance?"

Rovan's face lit up and, taking her hand, he led her onto the dance floor. As they swung to the music, Mara smiled to herself. While she might have been remembered if she had spent the whole night alone, no one would remember a couple that drank and danced like any other couple at the party that night.

By the time her job was done, she could disappear, and no one would be able to point her out among the many other guests that night.

Yes, she was good.


End file.
